India's semiconductor roadmap: from the first chips to 2035

For decades India designed chips for the world but made almost none. 2026 is the year that changed. Here is where India's semiconductor journey stands as of October 2026, and where it is heading.

Phase one: ISM 1.0 (2021 onwards)

The India Semiconductor Mission was approved in December 2021 with an incentive framework of about ₹76,000 crore. It offered up to 50% fiscal support for fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors and assembly units, plus a Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme for chip-design startups.

The mission approved a wave of projects across Gujarat, Assam, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and other states, worth about ₹1.6 lakh crore in total investment.

2026: the first "Made in India" chips

Three plants in Sanand, Gujarat moved from construction to production this year:

These are packaging and test plants, not fabs. They take finished wafers, cut them into chips, test them and package them. That is a vital first step: it builds supply chains, trains workers and draws suppliers to India.

The fabs being built

• Tata Electronics with PSMC, Dholera (Gujarat): India's first commercial fab, planned for 28nm-class logic chips, with an investment of about $11 billion. It is under construction, with first silicon targeted for late 2026 and full production expected around 2028.
• Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test, Jagiroad (Assam): a large assembly and test plant for logic and memory chips, under construction.
• Compound semiconductors and new OSATs: projects in Odisha and Tamil Nadu cover silicon carbide, gallium nitride and advanced packaging, materials that power EVs, chargers, 5G and defence electronics.

ISM 2.0: the next phase

In July 2026 the Union Cabinet approved ISM 2.0 with an outlay of ₹1.27 lakh crore, expected to bring in around ₹4 lakh crore of private investment. Where ISM 1.0 focused on getting the first plants built, ISM 2.0 aims to build a complete ecosystem around six pillars:

• Semiconductor fabrication
• Chip packaging and testing
• Design innovation, including Indian chip IP
• Research and development
• Skill development
• A resilient supply chain, including equipment and materials

Government documents also point to longer-term ambitions: designing and making chips for about 70–75% of India's own needs by 2029, a roadmap towards advanced nodes, and a place among the leading semiconductor nations by 2035.

The talent pipeline

Policy is already reaching campuses. Under the Chips to Startup (C2S) programme, institutions across India get access to industry-grade EDA design tools. By early 2026, about 67,000 students were using these tools, academic teams had taped out 122 designs, and 56 student-designed chips had been fabricated at the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali. Under DLI, 24 design startups had completed 16 tape-outs.

AICTE has also introduced VLSI-focused degree, minor and diploma programmes. Even so, the demand will outpace supply: the industry is estimated to need about 4 lakh semiconductor professionals by 2030, up from about 2.5 lakh today.

What this means for students

• Design roles remain the largest employer in India, and are growing with startups and global design centres.
• Manufacturing roles are new: process, equipment, yield, quality and test engineers for fabs and OSATs, plus technicians.
• Location is spreading: Gujarat, Assam, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are all part of the map.
• Practical skills win: employers look for hands-on work with real tools and real projects, not only theory.